


Darling, I'd paint you a hundred blue skies

by LadyAshryverGalathynius



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: -Ish, An impoverished princess, Comedy, Enkidu knows whats going on, F/M, Fluff, Gil is still the king, Historical, Romance, Saber is a princess, This was supposed to be just 500 words but Saber decides to catch feelings, kinda OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 16:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11235138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAshryverGalathynius/pseuds/LadyAshryverGalathynius
Summary: Gilgamesh smiled, placing his hands on Arturia’s shoulder, “Call me by my name,”Arturia blinked at the request. That was a surprisingly tame request. Now that she thought about it, she never called Gilgamesh by his name. Even if she had, it was when they were both children. As they grew older, Arturia had always just addressed him by ‘Your Majesty’.“Is that you request?” Arturia asked, seeking for some sort of confirmation.“Actually,” Gilgamesh uttered, “please don’t just call me by my name. Call me ‘Gil’,”





	Darling, I'd paint you a hundred blue skies

**Author's Note:**

> This was just supposed to be 500 words of nonsense but Arturia decides top catch feelings and my hands won't stop typing. Also, this wasn't beta-ed so tell me if I made any mistakes. Constructive criticisms are welcomed but please don't be mean.  
> I might decide to make this a series but I don't know yet. I haven't written something in months so I might be a bit rusty but pls bear with me.

In a lavish en-suite bedroom of a splendid castle, Arturia Pendragon was fuming. No, perhaps seething may be a better word to describe what the Princess of Camelot was currently feeling. Grasping tightly on the bed’s poster, Arturia gritted her teeth. Corset lacing would always be painful no matter how old she get.

“Is this too tight, Your Highness?” Irisviel, her handmaiden, asked worriedly as she pulled on the fine ribbon lacing.

“This is fine, Irisviel,” Saber replied. She wouldn’t hear the end of it were there be any rumours of The Princess of Camelot were to dress improperly at a gala. For one, her father would look at her with his _‘I’m disappointed in you but you’re old enough to know better so I’m not going to say anything about it’_ for at the very very least four weeks; also Arturia was not very sure she want to sit through another very lengthy lectures from her tutor about corset lacings (it lasted two and a half hour last time).

The cause of her seething, however, was on this very ball she had to attend. It was the 21st birthday of the Great King of Uruk, His Majesty King Gilgamesh. If she had a say in this, she would rather not come close to said King for another 100 years. However, unfortunately, said King had appointed himself as her fiancé, and Camelot, being quite dependent on Uruk could not just say no to His Great Majesty’s proposition, and so Arturia’s father had requested she just went along with it. Her father had been so sure that it was a mere infatuation and the King Gilgamesh’s feelings would simply die down in a few months. But it had not. This was why Arturia was going to attend this celebration – as it would be improper for the King’s future wife to not celebrate his birthday.

“I’m done with the lacing, Your Highness,” Irisviel said, “I shall go and fetch your dress from the seamstress then I shall be back,”

Arturia nodded breathlessly at Irisviel, and then sat down on one of the cushy chaise. She let out a deep sigh. Uruk had helped out Camelot in many ways, such as donating food during the food crisis years ago, assisted in borders wars with a neighboring country, helped with the planning and building of irrigation systems during droughts. She supposed she had owed Uruk a lot, and perhaps was very much indebted to the King. The least she could do to pay was attend a gala if it was requested of her. Arturia presumed it would be very ungrateful of her if she couldn’t even do such a simple thing. Even if she had to wear this infernal torture device called corset, even if she had to smile and entertain and play nice with people. This was the least she could do to show her gratitude.

A few minutes later, a knock resounded from the mahogany doors of the bedchamber, “Irisviel?”

“Guess again,” The responding sound was utterly familiar and disturbing. Arturia clenched her teeth at the self-assured voice. Sometimes it’s the little thing about him (like his voice) that made her not want to express her gratitude to him, even if she wanted to.

“Your Majesty,” she said, with the sweetest tone she could muster, “It is such an honour to be graced by your presence. It is very unfortunate that I am not decently dressed right now and therefore unable to greet you.”

“But, of course.” _Narcissistic Bastard_. “As much as I would have loved to see you, I suppose I could wait for the surprise until the evening, my love,”

Veins popping, Arturia managed to ask, “What brings you here, Your Majesty?”

“I come to bring you a gift,” He replied smoothly, even through the door Arturia could hear his tender, baritone voice caressing his every words. Obnoxious though the man was, Arturia could not deny how truly handsome and sensual Gilgamesh could be when he wanted to.

“It is not my birthday, though,” _But it is yours_. It was at this moment that Arturia realized she had completely forgotten to bring Gilgamesh a birthday present. She face palmed, wondering if it would be socially acceptable to send a gift on a later date and what to do in case it wasn’t. She had been too busy being annoyed at the prospect of having to attend a ball that she had completely forgotten to bring a present along.

“Arturia? Are you still there?” Gilgamesh asked, snapping Arturia of her thoughts.

“Yes,” she replied, “It was too kind of you to bring me a gift on your own birthday,”

  
Gilgamesh laughed raucously. Unlike the arrogant, mocking way he usually laughed, this one was just friendly, tender even. It almost made her feel less irritated about him, almost being the keyword here, of course.

“Of course not,” Gilgamesh assured, “Besides, I am sure you have something better prepared for me,”

Arturia clicked her tongue, feeling even more and more guilty about the whole gift thing. So she replied, “I’m not sure it would be appropriate of me to accept this gift,” _Especially since I haven’t got anything for you in return even though it is your birthday._

“Will you offend me by not receiving this gift, Arturia?” Gilgamesh tone had taken a slightly, hardly noticeable lower tone to it. Arturia was not delusional. No matter how kind Gilgamesh had always been to her, he was still very much the short-tempered, easily-offended King of the Practically the Whole World.

“Of course not,” Arturia said after a few moments, “Let me make myself presentable and I shall come out to greet you, Your Majesty,”

“No need,” Gilgamesh interrupted suddenly, “I shall just hand this to your handmaiden as she is here, make sure you wear this to the gala,"

* * *

 

As it turns out, the ‘gift’ in question was a necklace. A very beautiful necklace might she add. It was a golden necklace with an intricate pear-cut ruby pendant with tiny diamonds accent all over it. The necklace might be the most expensive thing she’d ever owned, which made her even guiltier of accepting such a valuable item. Also, the necklace went beautifully with her gold lace mermaid dress. Irisviel and the new seamstress sure have a good taste.

As she walked into the ballroom, she can’t help but notice stare and whispers about her. Most of them were cynical; something about how unexpected it was that the poor princess of Camelot was unexpectedly well-dressed. There it was, one of the reasons why Arturia hated parties. It was the whispers and the stares. Whispers would have been just fine, she had been in situations where people came up to her and express their sentiments about how she didn’t belong in places like this and should just stay in her impoverished country.

Opting to ignore these elitists, Arturia went for the buffet table to pick out something to eat. As she walked, she noticed green hair that could only belong to one person.

“Princess Arturia!” Enkidu, King Gilgamesh’s most trusted advisor greeted her enthusiastically, “I was looking forward to meeting you,”

  
Arturia smiled happily, “It’s been long, Lord Enkidu. I was looking forward to meeting you as well,”

“No need to be so stiff,” Enkidu chastised, placing his very full plate on the table, along with his almost empty wine glass. Eagerly, she pulled Arturia into a tight embrace, “As always, you smell so good,”

Arturia liked Enkidu and his straightforwardness, although much needed to be said about his nonchalance on physical contact. This was normal, of course, and Arturia understood that Enkidu’s hug was completely friendly in nature, and as such she hugged the man back, which made Enkidu giggle happily.

“Nice necklace, by the way,” Enkidu commented once he released Arturia from his arms.

“Thank you,” Arturia said graciously, “King Gilgamesh gifted it to me,”

“He did, didn’t he?” Enkidu grinned mischievously, as if he knew something Arturia didn’t. Arturia didn’t ask too much about this, figuring she’d rather not know about it.

“Speaking of King Gilgamesh,” Arturia began, “where is he?”

“What’s the matter?” Enkidu asked with the same smug grin, “Do you miss him?”

Arturia rolled her eyes, “I do not. I was merely asking,”

“Sure you were,” Enkidu snorted, but then pointed his hand to where Gilgamesh was standing, surrounded completely by a gaggle of women. Arturia noted them to be Princesses, or at the very least daughter of some prominent nobles somewhere.

“I didn’t know he was popular,” Arturia said, as she watched the women giggle and fawn over Gilgamesh. Now that she thought of it, of course Gilgamesh would be popular. He was a very attractive man, perhaps the most attractive man Arturia knew, and he was also a King of a very prosperous country. Who wouldn’t want to marry such a man? Arturia suddenly felt inadequate and somewhat irritated. She didn’t quite understand why she would feel so comfortable at women plastering themselves on Gilgamesh.

“Why? Are you jealous?” Enkidu questioned.

Perhaps it was jealousy. No it definitely wasn’t. She didn’t have any romantic feelings towards Gilgamesh. In fact, this was better. Perhaps, he’d find a woman so beautiful that he would forget his infatuation on Arturia and finally stop bugging her. That’d be great, excellent actually. But is that what she wanted? The thought of Gilgamesh being with another woman sent unpleasant feelings running to Arturia’s body. She felt lonely and it was suddenly difficult to breathe. Had her corset been laced too tightly? No, she was breathing fine until now. So what was it that made it so hard to breathe here?

“I need some fresh air,” Arturia announced. Before Enkidu could say anything, Arturia hastily made her way out of the ballroom, pushing her way out until she got out. She wandered around, not even sure where she was going. All she knew was that she had to leave, she needed to go. Finally, she ended up in a very spacious garden somewhere on the castle grounds.

Looking around, she noticed that she was lost but decided that she didn’t care about that at the moment and anywhere else was far better than being stuck in that suffocating ballroom, seeing things she did not particularly want to see. Briefly, the images of Gilgamesh being clung to and cajoled by a group of women flashed before her and she struggled to breath. And she wondered why. She was not supposed to care who clung onto Gilgamesh. She was supposed to be relieved even, because he was busy to pay her any attention. Was it because she wanted him to pay attention to her? Maybe so, because memories of him from this afternoon speaking to her, thoughtfully bringing her a gift suddenly brought a smile to her face. But why? She thought she hated him. Or had she gotten so used to his being around and that’s why she felt so lonely. No, that wasn’t it. That didn’t explain why she felt like her heart was squeezed when she saw him with those women. Then why? Why was she being so incomprehensibly affected by it?

“There you are, Arturia,” a voice suddenly said, “I was worried that you wouldn’t enjoy yourself,”

“Not to worry, your Majesty,” Arturia found herself blurting, “I definitely wasn’t enjoying myself,”

Gilgamesh seemed surprised, his eyes widening for a millisecond, then he chuckled, “I’ve always loved how honest you are, my queen, I find it very refreshing,”

Arturia narrowed her eyes at the nickname but didn’t mention it. She feared that her relentless beating in heart would intensify if she brought it up and her heart would suddenly beat out of her chest. Moreover, she was afraid that he would hear the loudness of it. Therefore, Arturia just stood and tried to control her breathing.

“You wore the necklace,” Gilgamesh said suddenly, gaze shifting towards the ruby pendant nestled in-between Arturia’s collarbone. Shifting uncomfortably at Gilgamesh’s scrutiny, Arturia found herself noticing how remarkably similar the colour of Gilgamesh’s crimson orbs and the small ruby in her necklace. Beautiful, Arturia had never noticed how breathtaking Gilgamesh’s eyes were. And the more she looked the more enraptured she became.

As if he realized Arturia’s fervent stare, Gilgamesh chuckled and walked closer to her. In two quick strides, he was standing in front of her, finger lightly tracing the teardrop of the ruby.

“Isn’t it simply lovely?” he whispered. With him being so close, Arturia could feel his breath fanning over her chest. Arturia shivered, suddenly it was hard to breathe again, and her heart felt like it would explode. Unaware of Arturia’s plight, Gilgamesh merely continued on, “I had it made for you, my love, something to remind you of me when you eventually go home,”

“They are certainly lovely,” Arturia murmured shakily, taking sudden step back, “Thank you for the gift,”

“You are very welcome, my dear,” Gilgamesh flashed Arturia a lazy, cat-like smirk, “Although, I would also have liked to receive a gift from you, considering it is my birthday,”  
Arturia jumped. Being lost in her own unnecessary thoughts, she had completely forgotten that she had yet to get Gilgamesh a gift. Clearing her throat, she decided that she would play it cool here, “But, Your Majesty, surely you have received many wonderful gifts. And what I could possibly give you would undoubtedly pale in comparison to that,”  
Arturia could have sworn she heard an annoyed grumble coming from Gilgamesh. It was actually kind of cute, that grumble. Wait, did she just think he was cute? She must be crazy. It must be because she had yet to eat since noon.

“On the contrary, my queen,” he said, “What those people give me would pale in comparison to any give I would receive from you,”

He got her there. With a sigh, Arturia conceded, “To say the truth,” she began, “I have completely forgotten to get you a gift. If it is possible, can I send you something at a later date?”

Her honest confession was met with a blank stare. And then Gilgamesh laughed and laughed and laughed.

"Do not make fun of me!” Arturia exclaimed.

“I’m not,” Gilgamesh said through his laughter, wiping tears from his eyes, “You don’t have to send anything to me, Arturia,”

“That won’t do,” Arturia retorted, “It would be rude to do so, Your Majesty. I will send you something and you can’t stop me,”

“No, really, hear me out,” Gilgamesh said, “Rather than a gift, can I request something else?”

Arturia raised an eyebrow. She was certain he would request something outrageous and highly inappropriate from her, if his past behavior had been any indication.  
Her hesitance must have shown because Gilgamesh suddenly said, “You don’t need to worry, my love. I won’t ask for something you would deem inappropriate, if that is what you are afraid of,”

Arturia nodded warily, not even sure if she was doing the correct thing. She hoped that she wouldn’t regret this decision, “Very well, then. I shall hear your request out,” There. She supposed that there was no harm in just listening to it. She could consider it later if it was reasonable.  
Gilgamesh smiled, placing his hands on Arturia’s shoulder, “Call me by my name,”

Arturia blinked at the request. That was a surprisingly tame request. Now that she thought about it, she never called Gilgamesh by his name. Even if she had, it was when they were both children. As they grew older, Arturia had always just addressed him by ‘Your Majesty’.

“Is that you request?” Arturia asked, seeking for some sort of confirmation.

“Actually,” Gilgamesh uttered, “please don’t just call me by my name. Call me ‘Gil’,”

Arturia was very sure she had just let out a high pitched, inhuman, screeching sound but it was the accurate way of expressing her feelings right then. She felt heat rise up to her cheeks, “You want me to call you what?”

Gilgamesh had this exasperated expression, as if he was explaining something to a very very young child, “Call me Gil,” he said again, his voice almost a whisper. The husky tone to it made Arturia’s face heat up even more.

“That’s..” Arturia began, but she couldn’t find words. Her mind completely blank as she struggled to come up with a retort. Calling Gilgamesh with a nickname sounded intimate, and oddly personal, as was the case with nickname. Arturia had never called anyone with a nickname before, never actually gotten very close to anyone to refer to them with a nickname. Still, it was a very reasonable request, even if it was so very intimate to ask that of someone. Perhaps Uruk had a different culture about nicknames as opposed to Camelot.

“I’m waiting,” Gilgamesh had the gall to say this with a smug smirk on his face. It made Arturia want to punch that annoyingly handsome face.

Instead, she sighed heavily, “G-Gil,” she choked out. Arturia was sure she had blush spreading up to her ears. She was also sure Gilgamesh would laugh and mock her. To her surprise Gilgamesh just ruffled the top of her head and looked at her with what she imagined to be a fond smile. She looked away.

“That’s better. Call me that from now on. That can be your birthday gift to me?”

“Are you sure that’s all you want?” Gilgamesh was a picture of luxury and reckless spending if the castle was anything to go by. Arturia had been so sure Gilgamesh would request something unbelievably costly from her.

“Why wouldn’t I want my fiancée to call me anything other than ‘Your Majesty’?”

“We are not engaged,” Arturia pointed out.

Gilgamesh frowned, and then said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Arturia, when you were 5 and I was 9, you promised that you would be my wife, and we’d have 10 children. Are you breaking up with me now?”

Taken aback with the sudden reminder, Arturia sputtered, “I was five. And we were children,”

Gillgamesh merely raised an eyebrow and huffed, “A promised is a promise, Arturia. You are never getting rid of me,” he retorted with a cheery grin, “Now, are we ready to go back to the ballroom?”

Arturia scoffed, “Go back by yourself,”

“I’d be very lonely without you,” Gilgamesh teased, wrapping his arms around Arturia’s shoulder.

“I’m sure you find wonderful company with the ladies, seeing as you were having so much fun fraternizing with them,” Arturia muttered with a wry smile on her face.

To his credit, Gilgamesh seemed taken aback for a moment, until he smiled complacently. It was annoying. The he said, “Are you jealous, Arturia? Is that why you said you weren’t enjoying yourself just now?”

Arturia eyes widened. Was she? Was she really jealous? Jealousy did make a lot of sense, however. Still, it wasn’t something that she would admit to in his face. Not even if she died. So she made the most logical choice: Deny everything. “I most certainly am not!” she declared.

“Of course you are not,” Gilgamesh nodded, although his expression said that he was completely unconvinced by Arturia’s denial and was simply placating her.

“I truly am not jealous,” Arturia insisted.

“Let me say this, Arturia. And I will repeat this as many time as needed,” Gilgamesh stepped closer towards Arturia and pulled her into his arms, “You are the only one for me, my queen. Today, tomorrow, and the day after that, and even the a hundred years to come, you are the only one I will love,”

“I truly am not jealous,” Arturia murmured into Gilgamesh’s chest. She wasn’t even sure yet if she truly loved him, or it was a fleeting emotions. But for the moments, this felt nice. Gilgamesh was warm, and he smelled familiar. She sighed and relaxed into his embrace.

* * *

 

Afterwards, she remembered being led back to the ballroom. There she saw Enkidu looking at her with a worried expression etched on his beautiful face. After he’d ascertained that she was fine, he flashed her (or perhaps it was Gilgamesh he flashed, at this point she wasn’t sure any more) a saucy wink.

“So, when can I expect cute little nieces and nephews?” Enkidu grinned, obviously having way too much fun with this.

Gilgamesh joined in happily, “Yes, I have to ask the similar question, my queen,”

Arturia gave them both a very fierce glare that the two men only chuckled at. As if on cue, the orchestra began playing a very familiar song. The traditional dance of every party held by Uruk, all dances must be opened by this dance, and it must be started by the reigning monarch and their spouse.

Gilgamesh immediately clutched at Arturia’s hand, “My queen, may I have the honor of dancing with you?”

Cynical whispers again. Displeasure at the fact she was asked to dance with Gilgamesh, at what he just called her. However, Gilgamesh didn’t seem to be all that bothered about it. He just held his usual smug, self-assured smirk on his face and Arturia abruptly couldn’t care less about what these people think about her. It was what she thought about herself that mattered the most after all. And she might be the Princess of the impoverished Kingdom of Camelot, but she definitely was far better any half of the room anyway.

She laughed quietly and said, “Of course, Gil,”

And she wasn’t sure about Gil but she definitely had a lot of fun calling those people out when they tried flatter her later in the night. She still hated parties though.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave me a comment, guys! Or a kudo. Or both, really.


End file.
